Richmond Times-Dispatch (Richmond, VA) articles from May 2005

Richmond Times-Dispatch (Richmond, VA) archives from May 2005

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Chip Jones column.
May 31, 2005... Byline: Chip Jones May 31--ANGER, PERSISTENCE, LUCK? WHATEVER! FARE IS RESET: Delta blinked. OK, maybe the airline didn't do anything of the sort. But after we heard from several angry readers last week, the airline did change the...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., American Trends column.
May 31, 2005... Byline: Gary Robertson May 31--IT'S TAXING TO DETERMINE TIME SPENT MULTITASKING: The federal government studies nearly everything under the sun and, of course, the sun too. But one of the government's most ambitious projects is a...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Bob Rayner column.
May 31, 2005... Byline: Bob Rayner May 31--SKIP THE VEGGIES AND BRING ON THE GREEN BEER: In the past few months, I've asked my faithful readers to eat plenty of spinach and broccoli. Together, we have explored the intricacies of Social Security, the...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Biz Buzz column.
May 30, 2005... Byline: Gregory J. Gilligan May 30--ELLWOOD THOMPSON'S UNDERGOES FIFTH EXPANSION: Ellwood Thompson's Natural Market has grown yet again, the fifth expansion since its founding in 1993. "We are always looking for ways to expand," said...

A job -- and affirmation.
May 29, 2005... Byline: Tyra M. Vaughn May 29--Chip Young can't stop smiling these days. Customers entering Max's Positive Vibe Cafi in South Richmond are greeted by his bubbly personality and infectious smile. But a year ago, the 21-year-old...

Ashland realty firm hits No. 83.
May 29, 2005... Byline: Gregory J. Gilligan May 29--Hometown Realty Services in Ashland is the largest independent residential real estate broker based in the Richmond area. The agency is the nation's 83rd-largest based on the number of sales...

Disability is a key part of the business.
May 29, 2005... Byline: Juan Antonio Lizama May 29--A pier-diving accident 33 years ago in the James River in Newport News left Sean Stapleford paralyzed from the neck down. It happened on the last day of classes in his senior year of high school....

New $20 million project to upgrade Longwood University student housing.
May 29, 2005... Byline: Jamie C. Ruff May 29--FARMVILLE -- A 1960s-era strip shopping center in downtown Farmville has been razed to make way for Longwood University student housing and retail space. Pinnacle Construction and Development Corp. and...

Improved technology opens door.
May 29, 2005... Byline: Juan Antonio Lizama May 29--A blind person can work a computer by using voice recognition; a quadriplegic can do the same with eye movement. "There's more technology out there that is making people with disabilities...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Consumer Watch column.
May 29, 2005... Byline: Iris Taylor May 29--GOVERNMENT AUCTIONS ARE LEGITIMATE, BUT BE PREPARED: Have you seen a solicitation like this lately? "Get the bargain of a lifetime on government-seized cars, trucks, boats, aircraft, cameras, jewelry,...

Mathiasen warns executives that the Air Tran will leave without support.
May 28, 2005... Byline: Jeffrey Kelley May 28--Fly it, or it will leave. Richmond International Airport's president and chief executive delivered that message yesterday to a group of businesspeople regarding AirTran Airways. "It's extremely...

Firstmark settles lawsuit with FMK.
May 28, 2005... Byline: John Reid Blackwell May 28--Richmond-based Firstmark Corp. said yesterday that it has settled a lawsuit brought against the company by a major shareholder in Texas. Firstmark, which makes aircraft flight control and...

Columbia Gas raising season rates.
May 28, 2005... Byline: Greg Edwards May 28--Columbia Gas of Virginia said yesterday that a typical customer's bill will increase nearly 5 percent for the summer months to reflect an increase in the company's natural-gas costs. For a typical summer...

Groups sue to block sale of Wis. Complex to Dominion subsidiary.
May 28, 2005... Byline: Greg Edwards May 28--Groups opposed to the sale of a nuclear power plant in Wisconsin have gone to state court to block the deal. The plant's buyer is a subsidiary of Richmond-based Dominion Resources Inc. Watchdog...

Early Learning Council prepares children for school.
May 27, 2005... Byline: Tyra M. Vaughn May 27--RICHMOND, Va. -- An investment today in early-childhood learning and school readiness can yield better employees for businesses tomorrow. Recognizing that, Gov. Mark R. Warner announced the formation of...

Virginia Commonwealth University team wins software competition.
May 27, 2005... Byline: Jeffrey Kelley May 27--Was that Bill Gates?" John McKeon posed the question when a Ferrari blew by his tour bus last weekend on the Microsoft Corp. campus in Washington state. "We speculated that that could have been The...

HRH reports on payments; firm's president resigns.
May 27, 2005... Byline: Bob Rayner May 27--The president of Hilb Rogal & Hobbs Co., a Richmond insurance broker, resigned after the company informed regulators that it may have made or received illegal payments. Robert B. Lockhart, president and...

Anderson & Strudwick adds affiliate.
May 27, 2005... May 27--Richmond-based Anderson & Strudwick Inc. is adding an affiliate in the Boston area that continues the firm's strategic expansion beyond Virginia. The Lentell Group and its employees in Osterville, Mass., will become associates of...

Lawyer returns to Richmond, Va., firm.
May 27, 2005... Byline: Alan Cooper May 27--RICHMOND, Va. -- R. Hewitt Pate, the top antitrust lawyer in the U.S. Department of Justice, will return to Richmond-based Hunton & Williams next month as part of the firm's effort to substantially enlarge...

Magazine recognizes Va. firms.
May 27, 2005... Byline: John Reid Blackwell May 27--Sixteen Virginia-based companies, including a Richmond-based bank, have been named among the nation's leading black-owned businesses by Black Enterprise magazine. Consolidated Bank & Trust Co. is...

Many in Va. applying for tobacco buyout.
May 27, 2005... Byline: John Reid Blackwell May 27--About 69 percent of Virginians eligible for the national tobacco-quota buyout have applied. The first payment is expected to be distributed by September. The Virginia Farm Service Agency said it...

Capital One to cut 170 data-center jobs.
May 26, 2005... Byline: Carol Hazard May 26--Capital One Financial Corp. is axing 170 information-technology jobs in the Richmond area. The cuts are in addition to 750 job reductions -- about half of them in Richmond -- being made companywide this...

Travelers won't be detoured from vacation driving plans.
May 26, 2005... Byline: Greg Edwards May 26--Some may pause at the pump this Memorial Day to remember the good old days of low gasoline prices. While motorists have enjoyed a small respite in the past few weeks from the record fuel prices they paid...

Investment firm taps two directors.
May 26, 2005... Byline: Carol Hazard May 26--Horace Whitworth and Larry Gibson have been named managing directors of Thompson, Siegel & Walmsley, a Richmond investment advisory firm. The men, senior directors on the firm's management committee,...

Richmond, Va.-based tobacco firm Universal reports profit increase.
May 26, 2005... Byline: John Reid Blackwell May 26--Universal Corp. said yesterday that its profit rose in the quarter and fiscal year that ended March 31. The Richmond-based tobacco and agricultural products company said its profit was $33.8...

Richmond drug company loses round in British court.
May 25, 2005... Byline: Jeffrey Kelley May 25--A British court has ruled against Richmond-based Insmed Inc. in patent-infringement motions involving a drug that it sells in Europe. Competitor Tercica Inc.'s suit claims that Insmed's manufacturing...

Richmond drug company loses British patent suit.
May 25, 2005... Byline: Jeffrey Kelley May 25--A British court has ruled against Richmond-based Insmed Inc. in a patent-infringement case involving a drug that it sells in Europe. Competitor Tercica Inc.'s suit claims that Insmed's manufacturing...

Adelphia to shut phone service.
May 25, 2005... Byline: Jeffrey Kelley May 25--Adelphia Communications Corp. will shut down its financially struggling long-distance service after failing to attract any interest among potential purchasers. The nation's fifth-largest cable...

Entrepreneur of Year finalists are announced.
May 24, 2005... Byline: Greg Edwards May 24--Technology consultants, energy management and an online job-search company are some of the Virginia businesses represented by this year's Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year finalists. ...

From nurse to CEO, division president at HCA focuses on the patient.
May 24, 2005... Byline: Bob Rayner May 24--After a waitressing stint, Margaret Lewis decided to pursue a career in health care. She started training as a nursing assistant at Chippenham Medical Center. That was in 1976. She never really left. But...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Company News column.
May 23, 2005... May 23--NEW BUSINESS/OPENINGS: Stephanie Sommers has opened J.E.B. Stuart Marketing Consultants. The firm will specialize in business and strategic planning, Web design, multimedia, advertising and public relations campaigns. The Web site is...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Biz Buzz column.
May 23, 2005... Byline: Gregory J. Gilligan May 23--UNIQUE FEATURE OF THIS UKROP'S IS OUTSIDE STORE: The Ukrop's store on Forest Hill Avenue near Chippenham Parkway, set to open Wednesday, has all the features found at many of the chain's other stores....

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., American Trends column.
May 23, 2005... Byline: Gary Robertson May 23--Running a modern university often calls for a lot of political savvy. That may be a compelling reason why more politicians are being selected to be college and university presidents. The American...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Speaking of Work column.
May 23, 2005... Byline: Wallace Johnston May 23--Watching any of the reality shows seems to bear out much of the research on human behavior. Each episode brings out some new aspect that, with close observation, is highly predictable. The most...

'LIFE'S ABOUT SELLING': The art of the deal.
May 23, 2005... Byline: Chip Jones May 23--One day in late April, Joe Currence pulled his white Ford Taurus off Carolina Avenue to drop in on a company he noticed driving by -- Absolute Packaging. Currence, vice president of sales at Cox...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Consumer Watch column.
May 22, 2005... Byline: Iris Taylor May 22--DATA SECURITY FOR CONSUMERS AND BUSINESS: Kyle Marks of Ohio, owner of an information-technology disposal-management company, received a Google Alert linked to last Sunday's column, "Rule means businesses must...

Golf tournament's volunteers don't see 18 holes -- they see a million details.
May 22, 2005... Byline: Bob Rayner May 22--Lee Ann Smullen, juggling a cell phone and a walkie-talkie, sits surrounded by a klatch of older guys in sports shirts and caps. She has their undivided attention. She's on the cell. "You can't take 20...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Bob Rayner column.
May 22, 2005... Byline: Bob Rayner May 22--CHANGING SOCIAL SECURITY -- AND AT ZERO RISK TO YOU: At the risk of sending my faithful readers into a Sunday morning snooze, I'd like to add a few more thoughts about the steamy Social Security debate. ...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Tech Notes column.
May 22, 2005... Byline: Jeffrey Kelley May 22--A BETTER BUILDING? WELL, A BETTER WAY TO PAY FOR IT: Perhaps there was no greater joy as a young boy than getting dirty in the sandbox and playing "Hard-Working Man" with a set of wooden blocks and a big...

'LIFE'S ABOUT SELLING': This salesman's alive and focused.
May 22, 2005... Byline: Chip Jones May 22--From the outside, the brown warehouses near Richmond International Raceway are plain-looking with loading docks and sliding doors. But to an insider like Joe Currence, they are shimmering islands of...

Local franchise hits the road to get big vehicles back on the road.
May 21, 2005... Byline: Chip Jones May 21--A hose by any other name would still be . . . a hose. Unless you're Charles Wentworth. He has figured out there's money to be made by providing emergency road service to replace hoses when they burst on...

Delta will fly nonstop to Florida.
May 21, 2005... Byline: Chip Jones May 21--Flying directly to Florida from Richmond should get easier this summer. Delta Air Lines announced yesterday that it would start the only nonstop service between here and Tampa, Fla., with two flights a day...

Performance Food expects Fresh Express deal to close in quarter.
May 19, 2005... May 19--Performance Food Group Co. said yesterday at its annual shareholders meeting that the sale of its fresh-cut produce business should be completed by the end of the fiscal quarter. In February, the Richmond-based restaurant...

RoomStore emerging on its own.
May 19, 2005... Byline: Gregory J. Gilligan May 19--The final remnant of former bankrupt home furnishings giant Heilig-Meyers Co. becomes an independent company in two weeks. It has taken The RoomStore division nearly five years to achieve...

'Star Wars' fans plan to call in sick for a dose.
May 19, 2005... Byline: Jeffrey Kelley May 19--As the all-knowing Yoda might say: "Skip work, they will." The tiny green one squints, puffs his cheeks and slowly raises his unmanicured three-pronged hands: "About $627 million they will cost their...

New leader for Virginia Bar Association.
May 19, 2005... Byline: Alan Cooper May 19--Guy K. Tower, an administrator for the Virginia Supreme Court, will succeed Charles B. Arrington Jr. as the top executive at the Virginia Bar Association. Tower, director of educational services in the...

Rolling on the Riverside.
May 17, 2005... Byline: Carol Hazard May 17--Condominiums are sold out. Office space is 91 percent leased. And retail? Only one tenant has signed to date. Still, it's not a bad start for Riverside on the James, a development set to open...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Bob Rayner column.
May 17, 2005... Byline: Bob Rayner May 17--Remarkably, lots of people are reading, writing and talking about Social Security, of all things. The debate, unfortunately, has been marked by rising magnitudes of heat, hysteria and mass confusion. ...

Software sprouts at Tulip.
May 17, 2005... Byline: Jeffrey Kelley May 17--After the flood and rains subsided, the flowers bloomed at TecHead. Tulips, to be exact. Last week, the technology staffing firm spun off a new company, Tulip Solutions LLC, which markets and will...

Energy on the water.
May 17, 2005... Byline: Greg Edwards May 17--Michael Frederick picked a bicycle from the dozens available and set off at a brisk pace into a 4-foot-wide tunnel under the Chesapeake Bay. The light in the tunnel was dim and the air cool enough for a...

CORRECTION: Virginia's wine law largely in fine form.
May 17, 2005... Byline: Greg Edwards May 17--The story slugged RV-WINE, filed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News, contained the wrong date. It should have been sent for May 17. Please delete the previous version and use the following corrected...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., business briefs column.
May 16, 2005... May 16--ACCOUNTING: Sharika Kochicheril is an associate in the tax department with McGladrey & Pullen. ARCHITECTS: Scott O. Corwin has been named partner with Johannas Design Group. ADVERTISING: Art Webb is president of Barker...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Biz Buzz column.
May 16, 2005... Byline: Gregory J. Gilligan May 16--CHEEBURGER CHEEBURGER OPENING IN CHESTERFIELD: Ed and Sukey McGolrick decided to be their own bosses several years ago. He left a career with some prestigious companies in the hospitality business,...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Company News column.
May 16, 2005... May 16--CONTRACTS --The King Agency Inc. has been retained by Stratford Hall Plantation. --STR Software reports the following contracts: Implementation of FAXCOM for NDS for Genlyte Supply Division with Genlyte Group. ...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Consumer Watch column.
May 15, 2005... Byline: Iris Taylor May 15--Identity thieves are known garbage pickers. Dumpster divers, as it were. So, consumers should breathe a tad easier after June 1 when most businesses will be required to dispose of sensitive customer and...

Potter's Pub to stay open for another week or so.
May 15, 2005... Byline: Gregory J. Gilligan May 15--Potter's Pub remains open -- for now. The popular West End restaurant and bar was suppose to close Sunday night after holding a benefit for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The benefit and...

Agent aces Virginia real estate.
May 15, 2005... Byline: Carol Hazard May 15--Richmond real estate agents aren't supposed to out-produce their colleagues in Atlanta, Washington and Tysons Corner. The market here is small, and the rents are low. Agents would need to work three...

Bonds yield $448 million.
May 15, 2005... Byline: John Reid Blackwell May 15--Virginia yesterday completed its sale of bonds backed by a portion of the state's tobacco-settlement money. The tax-exempt sale raised approximately $448 million, of which $390 million will be...

Virginia's wine law largely in fine form.
May 15, 2005... Byline: Greg Edwards May 15--The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday struck down state-enforced discrimination in the direct shipment of wine from producers to consumers. The ruling should have little impact on direct mail-order, telephone...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Minding Your Business column.
May 15, 2005... Byline: Iris Taylor May 15--You want to start an eBay auction business. Maybe you're a bricks-and-mortar company looking for a new revenue stream. Or, perhaps you're looking for a small venture to run from home. Before setting up...

C&F Financial intends to purchase 5.1 percent of C&F Bank's common stock.
May 14, 2005... May 14--C&F Financial Corp., a one-bank holding company for C&F Bank, is seeking to purchase up to 180,000 shares, or 5.1 percent, of the company's common stock. The company will pay $41 per share. "The purchase of our own shares at...

Richmond, Va.-based law firm adds two immigration lawyers.
May 14, 2005... Byline: Alan Cooper May 14--Two lawyers who left the immigration practice of McCandlish Holton two years ago have returned to the Richmond-based law firm. Helen L. Konrad and Mark B. Rhoads were among four lawyers who went to the...

Nextel service lets NASCAR fans hear talks between drivers, teams.
May 14, 2005... Byline: Jeffrey Kelly May 14--With the right cell phone and service, you can hop into a NASCAR driver's seat from your lounger. Last June, Nextel Communications Inc. introduced FanScan, a service that allows subscribers to dial in to...

Charloottesville, Va., newspaper names new managing editor.
May 14, 2005... May 14--McGregor McCance, a former business reporter at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, has been named managing editor of The Charlottesville Daily Progress. McCance, 38, starts work on June 6 at the Charlottesville paper, which has daily...

Expansion at Infineon's Henrico semiconductor plant progressing, official says.
May 14, 2005... Byline: Jeffrey Kelley May 14--Officials at Infineon Technologies Richmond said they expect to hire 300 workers by Dec. 31, on top of the more than 300 recruited in the past year. Infineon, one of the area's top 20 nongovernment...

Investor's complaint rejected by arbitration panel.
May 14, 2005... Byline: Carol Hazard May 14--A Richmond investor who hoped to recoup money he lost in the stock market has come up empty-handed. He took his case to arbitration and lost. Merrill Lynch was absolved of any wrongdoing. "I am...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., business briefs column.
May 13, 2005... May 13--DYNEX CAPITAL Inc. reported first-quarter net income of $934,000 and a loss to common shareholders of 3 cents per share, compared with a loss of $5.4 million, or 60 cents per share. The Richmond-based financial services company...

Banker J.E. Causey Davis to retire.
May 13, 2005... Byline: Carol Hazard May 13--Longtime Richmond banker J.E. Causey Davis is retiring from First Community Bank. Davis, 69, was president and chief executive officer of Richmond-based CommonWealth Bank before it was bought in 2003 by...

Bonds could help rural Va.
May 13, 2005... Byline: John Reid Blackwell May 13--Two years after a first attempt fell through, Virginia is close to selling bonds that would help finance economic development in tobacco-growing areas of the state. The state yesterday priced...

SEC hits local firm with a subpoena.
May 13, 2005... Byline: Bob Rayner May 13--Genworth Financial Inc. has received a subpoena from the Securities and Exchange Commission seeking information about certain reinsurance products. The Richmond insurance and retirement products company...

Mill seeks methane power.
May 13, 2005... Byline: Lawrence Latani III May 13--WEST POINT -- One of Virginia's biggest paper mills will power some of its equipment with landfill gas if a development plan succeeds in its promise to save money and ease air pollution. ...

Bank of Richmond posts $283,292 in first-quarter earnings.
May 12, 2005... Byline: Carol Hazard May 12--The Bank of Richmond reported first-quarter earnings of $283,292, or 17 cents per share, compared with $107,822, or 6 cents per share, in the year-earlier period. The increase was attributed to an...

Technical awards go to...
May 12, 2005... Byline: Jeffrey Kelley May 12--Before he gave out his company-sponsored award, the president of Computer Resource Team Inc. gave a pep talk to a select crowd at last night's Greater Richmond Technology Council awards dinner. Though...

Virginia Business Bank plans to open late this year, target smaller businesses.
May 11, 2005... Byline: Carol Hazard May 11--A new bank set to open in the Richmond area will be dedicated to small and midsize businesses. Virginia Business Bank will focus on commercial customers in central Virginia whose borrowing needs for real...

Job hopefuls apply at newly-arrived AirTran.
May 11, 2005... Byline: Chip Jones May 11--Norma Latham sat in the waiting room of the Richmond Career Advancement Center, looking slightly nervous about her first contact with AirTran Airways. "Initially I'd like to be a flight attendant," said...

VHDA offers extra mortgage insurance.
May 11, 2005... Byline: Carol Hazard May 11--The Virginia Housing Development Authority is providing an extra layer of mortgage insurance at no extra cost to first-time home buyers. The insurance covers as much as $2,000 in monthly mortgage payments...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Bob Rayner column.
May 11, 2005... Byline: Bob Rayner May 11--For a half century, they've been quietly helping retarded children and adults -- and their families. The quiet time is over. The folks at the Greater Richmond Association for Retarded Citizens have...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Minding Your Business column.
May 11, 2005... Byline: Iris Taylor May 11--As a trailing military spouse, Victoria M. Parham quit her job and started anew umpteen times when her husband got transferred to a new base. In the summer of 2000, they were living in Maryland, preparing...

Gift and furnishings store Tweed keeps it close to home -- across three states.
May 9, 2005... Byline: Carol Hazard May 9--Kate Stottlemyer manages the shop in the Richmond area. Her sister works for the same business, only from Boston. Their mother minds the store in Sparta, N.J. Geography aside, mother and daughters run the...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Consumer Watch column.
May 9, 2005... Byline: Iris Taylor May 9--STAY ALERT FOR SINISTER PHISHERS: This week's column is a mish-mash of stuff you need to know. At the end, there are two letters from readers, one about my column on online bill payment and the other on...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Bob Rayner column.
May 9, 2005... Byline: Bob Rayner May 9--PRINTING BUSINESS THRIVES AS IT CHANGES WITH THE TIMES: Adapt or perish. I doubt there's a business adage that's harsher -- or unavoidable. And I doubt there's an industry that's faced more...

Growers of greenhouse tomatoes are now focusing more on flavor.
May 9, 2005... Byline: Greg Edwards May 9--Greenhouse tomatoes generally cost more to produce than field-grown tomatoes and generally get higher retail prices. But they also are more consistent in appearance and quality, which accounts for their growth...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Chip Jones column.
May 9, 2005... Byline: Chip Jones May 9--AIRTRAN ISN'T HERE YET, BUT FARE SALE IS: A friend told me recently that she had not been able to book the much-vaunted low fares of the next airline set to fly out of Richmond -- AirTran Airways. If that's...

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Biz Buzz column.
May 9, 2005... Byline: Gregory J. Gilligan May 9--Partners offer local food Molly Harris and Lisa Goldstein got into the restaurant business by a fluke. Both had talked last year about wanting to support local farmers and to prepare healthier meals...